Tewksbury Grace Farm

Hi Friends,

Another great growing week on the farm!  We hope you all will be able to attend our farm tour on Sunday – the farm looks really beautiful with all the rain we’ve received.  Show up anytime between 6-8:30 pm. This is a great opportunity to see a unique organic farming system and integrated  wildlife habitat. In this week’s bag you will find several types of fresh-eating and cooking greens – this is the green  part of the vegetable growing season! Please look carefully at each head of greens in the large bag; on the band is a label identifying what item it is – this is important to know since  bitter cooking greens like escarole look very much like sweet head lettuce.

Also in your bag this week you will find a handy fridge magnet that describes proper vegetable care. We provided these magnets back in the day, and decided to make another run of them for our newer members.

Periodically we will staple information on your bags about some of our favorite local farm- supporting restaurants or sustainable local farm products. This week you’ll find a business card from Wanderlust Café, our completely favorite new restaurant out of Bloomsburg. If you’re looking for excellent, high quality handmade fresh foods and juices, check them out. At our farm tour this weekend, we will have some of their feature almond dip and hummus (with our veggies to dip with, naturally!).

The weather conditions have been optimal for salad this spring…as we’re sure you can attest, since the salad greens have been spectacular, eh?! So, another week or two before the heat of July closes out the salad mix season. The very first of the sweet shell peas are trickling in…looks like a perfect crop, so look for these green pearls coming soon (full share members get a taste of them this week…remember, pod peas and taste raw first! You’ll be hooked.) Here’s what’s for dinner:

• Our Extraordinary Salad Mix (over 20 different types of greens and herbs)  - We like to tear up the larger pieces and then toss the mixture well with a vinagraitte dressing, walnuts, cranberries and goat cheese.
• Microgreens – chock full of vitamins and minerals, use on sandwiches, pasta, fresh spring rolls. Plan to use soon! Microgreens do not store long.
• Joi Choi– Rough chop succulent Joi Choi and flash sauté with sesame oil and seasoning. Serve with rice.
• Garlic Scapes- mince and fry as a fresh garlic. Delicious garlic flavor.
• Escarole or Napa Cabbage– Escarole- Natacha variety. Best rough chopped and flash sautéed with olive oil and seasonings, white beans, fresh pasta and parmesan.  Napa Cabbage- Asian green, chop and eat raw or lightly sauteed.
• Head Lettuce– unusual variety called Celtuce. Notice the thick stalk at the base of this head lettuce…this is succulent and should be chopped with the leaves for salad.
• Shell Peas or Sugar Snap Peas – Full shares get shell peas (Pod, eat with gusto).     Half shares get our sugar snap pea medley of lovely purple, green and yellow snap peas. We like them wok fried in Asian dishes.
• Hakurei turnips – also known as a salad turnip – very mild and juicy and best eaten raw!

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah